Wednesday, January 31, 2018

While the line between restaurants, C-stores, Grocery store, Service
Deli begins to blur one thing is crystal clear consumers want fresh food faster
and the foundation of those options are found within the Grocerant Niche
according to Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®Grocerant Guru® Steven
Johnson.

While the drive thru was so successful in garnering customers in
the United States today over 80% of all restaurant meals purchased are purchased
at a quick service restaurant according to NPD. Restaurant
companies have documented the success both grocery sector service deli’s and
convenience store are have garnering customers. Empowered with digital hand held marketing
smart phone platforms restaurants are elevated speed of service with grocerant
niche tactics according to our Grocerant Guru®.

McDonald’s Mobile Order & Pay expedites the
drive thru experience incorporating digital hand held marketing with
customization and personalization. Mobile Order & Pay integrates all of
Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of Food Marketing with a
customer relevant branded messaging.

Chipotle on the other hand is incorporating a second ‘make-line’
to prepared mobile orders to empower faster service. The 2,000th Panda Express’ that
recently opened in New York City, cared out space for an Express Pickup
Area for orders that were placed online.

While Starbucks sales seem to have stalled our
Grocerant Guru® reminds us that Starbucks was first with order-and-pay-ahead
that now accounts for over 29% of sales. Starbucks has also set up a separate area
where digital customers can find their orders waiting. Starbucks continues to
lead as they now have unveiled a
takeout-only stores.

Casual dinning does not want to be left out Red
Robin and Chili’s have all revealed plans to add curbside delivery with updated
twists, such as incorporating geolocation technology to know when a customer
has arrived. With Red Robin is going
mobile to get even closer to the customer. Since 1991 Foodservice
Solutions has been driving success in the grocerant niche are you tired of
trial and error?

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Regular readers of
this blog know that grocerant niche mix and match meal
component bundling
is now the cornerstone of retail foodservice success. Mix & Match bundling continues to drive
customer migration from legacy CPG products, restaurants, and grocery stores to
new fresh food products and new avenues of fresh food distribution according to
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®Grocerant
Guru® Steven Johnson.

Yes, "the new normal" in food retail requires a shift
away from traditional food packaging, points of distribution, and a focus on
fresh prepared food rather that pantry stocking according to Johnson. Meal
components that focus on healthier choices are an invitation Millennials cannot
seem to pass up. .

Our Grocerant Guru® identified, quantified, and qualified the
vital role of portability as a
major driver of the growth of the grocerant niche and subsequently Technomic
revalidated our findings. of the
snacking trend, obvious not only at the drive-thru window, but also with
packaged offerings at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, and at "boutique"
establishments, like Starbucks.

Today traditional mealtimes are less frequent, less important,
less likely than the convenience of fresh prepared meal components that can be
consumed immediately, used later as a mix and match meal components for the
perfect family meal, cocktail compliment, or meal replacement as a small
meal.

New Non-traditional "dayparts" are emerging. This is creating quite a conundrum for legacy
retailers in both the restaurant sector focused on selling complete meals and
legacy grocery stores focused on collecting slotting fees rather than providing
consumers incremental fresh food options.

Recent research by InfoScout looked at 77,820 American
households who provided daily receipts to the company to determine which
off-hour consumers are most apt to head to a restaurant in those times, as well
as the overall percentage of visits made by consumers during off-hour
dayparts and the basket size during those visits and how that compares
with the basket size of traditional mealtimes finding “off-hour meals make up
35 to 48 percent of all trips”.

Food retail has become a battle for share of stomach. The
battle for that share of stomach is taking is between all retailers sell food
including the ilk of: Convenience Stores, Supermarkets, Dollar stores, Drug
stores, Ikea, Liquor stores to name but a few.

In research from CocaCola they found that Millennials average
4.2 meals a day. Clearly Millennials are evolving as food consumers here are
some additional facts from the Coca Cola survey:

1. More than half eat breakfast outside of morning hours.

2. 30 percent replace one
or two meals daily with snacks.

3. 35 percent eat dinner at restaurants offering "happy
hour" deals.

4. 43 percent say they snack more today.

5. Members of the 18-to-24 age group reported they would go to
restaurants more if they stayed open later.

Packaging fresh food meal components
and placing those components in avenues of distribution that are representative
of the products target market is more important now than ever according to the
team at Foodservice Solutions®. Can
your meals be turned into meal components?
Success does leave clues.

Monday, January 29, 2018

When we think of customers
cravings regional food flavors White
Castle is always top of mind according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
White Castle is one of the most dynamic restaurant brands in the United Stated
according to Johnson.

While they have fewer than 500
locations and are privately held they have been industry leaders since they invented
the slider (originally priced at 5 cents) in 1921, an innovation with staying
power. In fact founder Walter Anderson
is responsible for both the hamburger bun and the standardization of fast food
production, and in 2014, the Original Slider was cemented as a cultural icon
when TIME magazine named it the most influential burger of all time

The team at White
Castle is always looking a customer
ahead. White Castle was one of the
first restaurant chains to beginning distribution of their signature burgers to
supermarkets nationwide helping create the ‘frozen food court’ you can find in
almost all grocery stores today.

White Castle may not
be first but it is again looking to innovate from within the burger field by
making it easier than ever to get a bag full of sliders. The pitch is simple:
What if Harold and Kumar never had to leave their apartment?

Expanding on Grubhub
services affiliated with more than 75 White Castle locations in New York City,
Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, and more, started offering delivery at 45
additional locations last month.

The new initiative
will kick off with a chance for fans to win a catered meal from the White
Castle Crave Mobile during the NFL championship on February 4, kicking off the
burger chain’s partnership with one of the nation’s leading third party food
deliverers.

Stan Chia, Grubhub
COO stated “We’re honored to partner with
the iconic White Castle brand to power delivery from Castles across the
country,”.. “Our orders show that sliders are clearly on the rise, and we’re
thrilled to deliver more of what our nearly 10 million diners crave.”

While the chain
appears to be near the front of the pack in terms of adapting to third party
delivery services, White Castle faces a more challenging undertaking than its
larger competitors given its footprint of 450 stores.

So what does it mean
to have a chain with a cultural cult following? In 2015, the chain expanded to a new state for
the first time in more than 50 years—into the Casino Royale Hotel & Casino
on the Las Vegas Strip—and over the store’s first 12 hours, White Castle VP
Jamie Richardson said his team served more than 4,000 sliders per hour. Here is
our point sell you food where you customers are. If they are playing games on
the computer or watching a 65 inch HDTV delivery works. Stay dynamic.

Are you ready for
some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday
that tomorrow? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information
or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and
we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Johnson found
that retailer’s focused on selling fresh prepared food that was Hand
Held, Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat are having the most success garnering
repeat business.

Portability is an integral driver at
retail when fresh prepared food that is Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat is being
offered. The undercurrents of change
evolving within the retail foodservice sector are attracting consumers looking
for food discovery including Gen Z and Millennials according to Johnson.
. There is little doubt now that success within the food industry today
can be traced back directly to Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s food marketing
back in the day and they continue to play and ever increasing role.

Johnson
has introduced, implemented, and integrated the Five P’s of Foodservice
Marketing with foodservice companies including Full Service Restaurants, Chain
Drug Stores, Grocery Stores, QSR’s, and C-Store clients. The 5 P’s
are:

Foodservice
Solutions® current team continues to refresh the Five P’s of Foodservice
Marketing utilizing four key pillars of every marketing
program Build, Measure, Learn and Repeat then validated results.
After repeated successful retail food industry adoption of Foodservice
Solutions® FIVE P’s of Fresh Food Marketing continue to
evolve while driving top line sales and bottom line profits for leading
retailers.

Visit
www.FoodservicSolutions.us if you are interested in learning how
Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s of Foodt Marketing can edify your retail food
brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal
participation, differentiation and individualization or
you can learn more at Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Taco Bells Cantina sells
beer. So is it any wonder that when you
want to invite a friend to have a beer you would text then as say meet you at Taco Bell?
Well, according to Steven
Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma WA based Foodservice Solutions®
of course it makes sense.

Taco Bell is testing
self-serve ordering stations at a store in Irvine near The District shopping
center. The Irvine chain said Thursday that it plans to step up kiosks in 2018.
Taco Bell announced plans to step up its digital services in 2018, including
adding self-serve ordering kiosks in restaurants.

With more than 6,700 restaurants Taco Bell, said it has
reached an agreement with its franchisees to fund new technologically-driven
services that provide “customers and team members with frictionless digital
experiences.”

Among the priorities for diners is to expedite the number
of self-serve ordering stations at restaurants in 2018. The new program, called
“All Access,” is aimed at providing an easy connection — from delivery to group
ordering.

Taco Bell said it also plans to “prioritize and invest”
in faster networks and improved back-of-house systems.

In Orange County, a
restaurant in Irvine is currently testing self-serve tablets. Taco
Bell did not disclose financial details of the agreement, including how the
company and franchisees plan to fund the new digital programs. Our team
believes this is the right thing to do at the right time.

Taco Bell Chief Executive Brian Niccol said in a
statement “Our fantastic relationship with our franchisees and our growth
mindset have enabled us to create an aggressive plan to make Taco Bell an All
Access brand,” “We always aim to stay relevant with changing consumer tastes
and trends, whether that be creating innovative menu items or offering the
latest technology that connects customers to our brand when they want it, where
they want it.”

Smartphone penetration in 2014 was at 67% and in 2020 it
is expected to be over 80% according to the team at Foodservice
Solutions®. Hand Held Food Marketing is
going to be the next big thing according to Johnson and Greg Cred and his team
at, Yum Brands are on top of it.

The fact is Taco Bell one of the industry’s most envied
fast food brands because its quirky inexpensive foods and marketing campaigns
score well with millennials. Food comes first, marketing second but together
within the fast food space hand held marketing the platform of choice.

Guerra told the
Financial Times that Eataly is eager to
expand the presence of its massive Italian food emporiums in the U.S. The
company has five locations in the US, including two in New York and one in
Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. It was reported that Eataly's U.S. sales
have doubled following the expansion.

Eataly is on pace to
generate 470 million euros in sales in 2017, which would be an increase of
nearly 24% over 2016. Guerra told Financial Times that Eataly can open stores
for the next 10 years. “We think we can have a store in every world capital,” The team at Foodservice Solutions® believes
this will be the year.

However this isn’t
the first time that Eataly has indicated plans to go public. In 2016, the Italian
merchant bank Tamburi Investment Partners, which owns a stake in Eataly,
indicated that it planned
to take the chain public in 2017.

Oscar Farinetti
founded and created Eataly, opening the first, 30,000-square-foot location in
Torino, Italy, in 2007. The company opened its first location in the U.S. in
New York City in 2010. Eataly is filled
with grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared portable
food. Remember Grocerant niche fresh
prepared food is booming around the world according to the team at Foodservice
Solutions®.

Eataly is not a food
hall, food halls are quite different in many cased they are simply food courts
without a mall. Grocerant niche concepts
the ilk of Eataly are on the rise driving top line sale, bottom line profits
what garnering evolving an migrating food consumers according to Johnson.

For
international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact:
Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us the Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based
Foodservice Solutions®. His extensive
experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product
positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. Visit:
www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more
information

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Lost leaders, digital
smartphone freebies, coupon matching
have worked for generations and Millennials are more likely than other
age groups to shop three or more retail outlets for groceries each week saving
themselves close to 35% according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma,
WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Regular readers of this blog know that the
parents of Millennials shopped around for the best prices and understand that
while in search of food discovery Millennials aren’t stupid either. It’s the quest for discovery of the app or
exploiting the establishment Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant ScoreCards
indicated price is as important as ever.

According to Acosta’s
“Trip Drivers” Hot Topic Report, 76% of consumers who shop at least once per
week said they visit two or more stores to buy groceries. Millennials are the
most likely to shop at the most locations, with 44% saying they shop at three
or more stores, compared with 29% of all shoppers.

Price is the biggest motivator for all shoppers
visiting multiple outlets, with 60% agreeing that some products are priced
lower at certain retailers. Forty-one percent said quality variability across
different categories is a motivating factor in store-hopping, 33% said product
availability is a factor and 23% cited convenience.

Among Millennials, only 45% cited price as a
key factor driving them to shop multiple stores. This age group is more likely
to cite physical proximity and the availability of specific brands.

Millennials are also more likely to shop
multiple retailers to ensure freshness, the report found. While 37% of shoppers
said they make multiple trips to ensure their food is fresh, 65% of Millennials
said they make multiple trips or have multiple deliveries to receive the
freshest possible food. That compares with 47% of Gen-Xers, 25% of Baby Boomers
and 22% of Silents (age 70-plus).

Consumer that shop three or more grocery stores
a month are not brand loyal? How much
are you paying for loyalty? Do you know?
Should you care? Does you outlet
look more like 2005 than 2020? Does
business model look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? Do you like doing
what you have always done and doing it the same way? Good for you if you do. But just how is that working?

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us is the global leader in grocerant niche
business development. We can help you
identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment
opportunities. Has your company had a
Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant
niche product Ideation? Want one? Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Retail
foodservice business models continue to evolve Amazon Go is fresh convenience
food fast with a small foot print and Le Macaron
new nontraditional franchise opportunity is another leading company expanding
with a flexible viable reduced footprint according to Tacoma, WA based
Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson.

Le Macaron French
Pastries announced a new nontraditional franchise opportunity in the form of a
mobile food cart. Folded into its overall growth strategy Le Macaron has
evolved it business model that requires less upfront investment it is a new
opportunity for franchise partners who are seeking flexibility with their
business.

The new Le Macaron franchise
opportunity aims to lean into the growing quick-serve and snack brand trend of
kiosks, mobile carts, and express locations. As consumers’ on-the-go lifestyle continues
to accelerate, Le Macaron French Pastries seeks to capitalize on these captive
audiences at malls, sporting events, festivals and other gatherings. The
investment for Le Macaron French Pastries’ new mobile food cart opportunity
ranges between $91,7500 to $127,000.

Rosalie Guillem, CEO
and co-founder of Le Macaron French Pastries stated “We wanted to create an opportunity
that allows our franchisees to work in nonconventional environments and offer
guests a sweet treat when they are unable to access one of our locations,”…
“Our products are small and can easily be eaten on the go, so a mobile food
cart aligns directly with our brand. This will only accelerate our growth as we
welcome a new group of franchisees looking to enter the fast-casual industry.”

Le Macaron French
Pastries is known for providing guests with a light dessert with lesser
calories, the brand offers more than 20 flavors of macarons, as well as
seasonal flavors, and the menu extends to include pastries, gelato, coffee,
cakes, éclairs so you can see how this new model is a very good fit.

Guillem continued “We
saw an opportunity to treat the American palate with our authentic recipes
while bringing our family together,”.. “As a result of our brand’s popularity,
we created a business model that can grow rapidly throughout the nation and
requires zero on-site baking for franchisees. We are able to give our guests
products that are always fresh and superior to others on the market as we
continue to expand our concept.”

Le Macaron French Pastries
closed 2017 with 45 units awarded and seeks to add new single and multi-unit
franchisees in 2018. Interested prospects should have a strong desire to own a
business, as well as a passion for the dessert space and success. Is your business model evolving?

Are you ready for
some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday
that tomorrow? Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information
or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and
we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

When Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions® Grocerant
Guru®,
Steven Johnson walked through, shopped, and sampled fresh food from Amazon Go and believes
that there is no doubt that Amazon reached its goal in providing a ‘better-for-you’
retail experience. Why?

Simple the fresh food was fresh and
full flavored and the experience was fast.
The store was well designed so that you could with ease find a fresh
meal, meal component, or fresh snack item.
The incremental benefit was you could buy a loaf of bread, milk, beer,
wine, and or chips if you wanted to stock an urban pantry or have the gang over
to watch a game.

The technology was seamless you did
not notice it unless you were looking up at the ceiling. You could not see the sensors on the shelves
detecting when an item picked up or placed back on the shelf. What was noticeable upon reflection was how
natural it was. No one missed the
cashier, the checkout station, or standing in line. You simply shopped and left.

Amazon Go is
not about replacing some of3.5 million cashiers
reported in the United States in 2016. The number of people involved in retail in my
opinion could rise as Amazon expands its technology to other locations. Jobs may be in not jeopardy if the technology
used by Amazon Go is saleable and all indications from Amazon’s Gianna Puerini the executive in charge of
Amazon Go and Dilip Kumar, Amazon Go vice president of technology
that is the case.

Amazon Go has created a platform where consumesr
can get fresh food fast, meals and meal components in a complexity free setting
that will empower consumer to buy fresh food more often. It will help evolve from retail work space
from cashiers too skilled cooks, meal assembly workers all while empowering
sustainable local specialty outlets the ilk of bakery’s, butchers, breweries
incremental avenues of distribution.

The store size helped with the speed
of service with only 1,800 square feet.
Without room allocated for cashier’s there was plenty of food, and
beverages choice without choice overload.
This store is about stocking the shelfs with food consumer want. Amazon Go is not about slotting fees while
they did have traditional CPG bread, milk, chips, and beer clearly the
grocerant niche fresh prepared food was the star of the show.

So what did we try? We tried the Alki Bakery Club Sandwich,
Molly’s Tortellini Pasta Salad, and Portland Style Coconut Dream Cake. All were grocerant niche fresh full flavored
portable and portioned for either one or two people. We have at this point
three insights:

1.Just like
using your iPhone (or any smart phone) for the first time you told yourself
this is great. Sure we have all learned
smart phone are not perfect but the fact is we now want them to do more and
more. In the case of Amazon Go we will
want more and more fresh food options and I’m sure they will evolve. Note to Gianna I wanted fresh coffee this
morning.

2.The store size
was just fine, the assortment of food and legacy CPG products exceed my
expectations. However food manufactures
will have to up their game to maintain market share, packaging, freshness, and
flavor appeared stayed.

3.There is no
doubt that this template is working in an urban footprint but clearly
Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Scorecards indicate that the unmet demand from
consumers for fresh fast retail food experiences will drive this technology
into suburbs as sure as autonomous vehicles can’t be stopped.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a
Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning
or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of
Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Monday, January 22, 2018

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson contends that advances in
packaging have driven incremental fresh food sales. In fact demand for single-use disposable
foodservice products in the United States is forecast to approach $226 billion
in 2021. Johnson asks is your food portable?

Time starved consumers
in search of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared meals,
and meal components that can be bundled in a mix and match way as to create a
personalized and customized family meal are driving demand according to Johnson.

Eating-Out while Eating-In has become the norm for many as regular readers of this blog know. Consumers are looking for speed and
convenience in meal preparation according to Johnson. With the availability of
new Apps for online ordering and delivery services its clear that this trend is
just about to elevate itself to new highs.

While customer migration is away
from grocery store to new non-traditional fresh food locations it is a shift away from shopping to fill the
pantry for shopping for fresh food for immediate consumption and all food
retailers are in a battle for a greater “share of stomach” according to our
Grocerant Guru®.

Recenlty McDonald’s announced that it is moving to sustainable packaging. Consumers want their eating choices to reflect their
values, and establishments want to meet their corporate sustainability
objectives. As compostable, recyclable, and post-consumer products become more
price competitive, they are quickly becoming an economical alternative to the
traditional single-use foodservice product materials.

Retailers have more choice in packaging today
everything from Bio-based, renewable, and biodegradable materials derived from
sugarcane (bagasse), corn (polylactic acid or PLA) and recycled newsprint
(molded pulp) offer suitable alternatives to traditional cups, clamshells,
dinnerware, and cutlery. Does you packaging have a ‘halo’ of better-for-you?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in
outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify
additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and
brand and menu integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche
visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant